| I should whet myself on the
grindstone of tapas, penance, and acquire a keen and tempered edge. My life should shine like a sword in
the hands of the Lord. These thoughts arise in my mind. I am lost in the wish to become an
instrument.
How this can come to be, the Lord Himself tells us in the last sloka of this Chapter. Shankaracharya in his
commentary calls this sloka, sarvarthasaara, the quintessence of the Gita. It runs
-
"matkarmakrit matparamo madbhaktah sangavarjitah
nirvairassarvabhuteshu yah sa maameti paandava."
"He who bears enmity towards none, he who stands impartial and is free from attachment and serves
me selflessly, he who dedicates to me all that he does, he who is filled
with devotion to me, all-enduring; free of passion and desire, full of
love, such a devotee becomes an instrument in the hand of the Lord."
This is the essence of the Gita's teaching.
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